64 | NOVEMBER 11 • 2021
OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
P
inhas Barak’s life story
was truly one going
from rags to riches.
A poor Moroccan Jew whose
parents died young, he rose to
become an officer in the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) and later
a respected Ph.D. engineering
professor in Michigan and
eminent leader in his profes-
sion.
Mr. Barak, 86, of Bloomfield
Hills, died Oct. 31, 2021. He
and his wife, Miriam, were
members at Congregation
Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield
and Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue in Detroit, and Beth
Ahm Rabbi Steven Rubinstein
officiated at his Nov. 1 funeral
service.
Born April 3, 1935, Pinhas’
original name was Felix
Ohana. His family lived for
generations in Morocco where
young Felix experienced vio-
lence and antisemitism. More
misfortune struck when he
and his older brother, Rami,
lost their parents, Sreha and
Shlomo Ohana, to typhoid and
tuberculosis. The young boys
went to live in orphanages.
A Paris-based Jewish orga-
nization, Alliance Israelite
Universelle, rescued 13-year-
old Felix and his brother. After
a year in a French orphanage,
the brothers were taken to
Israel. Felix joined and studied
Judaism at Hafetz Haim, a reli-
gious kibbutz in central Israel.
Renaming himself Pinhas
Barak, he discovered his love of
mechanical things while work-
ing in the kibbutz auto shop.
He joined the IDF as a teen-
ager, working his way up to the
rank of lieutenant colonel. Son
Leor Barak said, “One of my
dad’s proudest life accomplish-
ments was helping to design
the Israeli tank, the Merkava.
”
Pinhas attended the Technion-
Israel Institute of Technology
in Haifa, graduating with an
advanced degree in engineer-
ing.
Pinhas met his future wife,
Miriam Savescu, a native
of Romania, in Haifa. They
became friendly when he
bought chocolates at the kiosk
she ran with her mother.
Miriam at first scoffed when
Pinhas said he wanted to take
her out when he’
d return from
his military training in the
Negev. But Pinhas was a man
of his word, and the couple
married on Aug. 28, 1966.
In 1979, the Barak family
moved to Detroit for Pinhas to
pursue a doctorate in automo-
tive engineering at Wayne State
University. He worked more
than 25 years as a tenured
professor in the Engineering
Department at General Motors
Institute/Kettering
University in Flint.
Colleague Dr. Greg
Davis said, “He loved
the give-and-take
of teaching.
” Pinhas
also was a world-re-
nowned expert in
his field of mechan-
ical engineering,
suspension design and vehicle
dynamics. He wrote articles
and several textbooks.
For personal interests,
Pinhas loved the State of Israel,
soccer, James Bond movies,
dogs and all types of music.
Leor called him a “gentle, lov-
ing, emotional and optimistic
person. He always found the
good in people and looked for
peace in difficult situations.
”
A natural fighter, he
persevered through numerous
and challenging medical
conditions. Nurses and doctors
were said to be amazed by
his humor and unflagging
optimism. Pinhas emphasized
to Leor: “Don’t you ever
squander your experiences in
life.
”
In his eulogy, Dr. Brian
Blaufeux described a father-
in-law who was welcoming,
effusive in his point of view
and an excellent storyteller.
Pinhas Barak was the
husband of Miriam Barak,
father of Leor Itzhak Barak and
Shlomit (Dr. Brian)
Blaufeux, grandfather
of Adam Chaim
Blaufeux and Chloe
Leah Blaufeux, and
uncle of Uri and Osi
Barak.
He was the son of
the late Sreha and the
late Shlomo Ohana,
and brother and brother-in-law
of the late Rami and the late
Eti Barak.
Interment was at Clover
Hill Park Cemetery in
Birmingham. Contributions
may be made to Friends of
the IDF, PO Box 999, Walled
Lake, MI 48390, (248) 926-
4110/4111, www.fidf.org; Isaac
Agree Downtown Synagogue,
1457 Griswold, Detroit, MI
48226, (313) 362-4047, www.
downtownsynagogue.org;
or a charity of one’s choice.
Arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel.
A Brilliant
Professor
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Pinhas Barak
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